We will step in if theres mass exclusion in SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar: SC
New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Election Commission (EC) is a constitutional authority and it is deemed to act in accordance with law, but if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the court will step in.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar, and said that hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 and 13.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners, once again alleged that people are being left out from the draft list to be published on August 1 by the poll panel, and they will lose their crucial right of voting.
Bhushan said the EC has issued a statement that 65 lakh persons have not submitted the enumeration forms during the SIR process as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere.
He submitted that these people will have to apply afresh for inclusion in the list.
Justice Surya Kant said, 'The Election Commission of India, being a Constitutional authority, is deemed to act in accordance with the law. If any wrong doing is done, you bring to the notice of the court. We will hear you." Justice Bagchi told Bhushan, 'Your apprehension is that 65 lakh-odd voters will not feature in the draft list. Now ECI is seeking correction in the electoral roll. We are overviewing the process as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in. You bring 15 people whom they say are dead and are alive." Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Jha, said the Election Commission knows who these 65 lakh people are and if they mention their names in the draft list, no one will have a problem.
'If the draft list is conspicuously silent, you will bring to our notice," Justice Kant said.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, said that even after the draft list publication, enumeration forms can be filed.
The bench asked the petitioners and the poll panel to file their written submissions by August 8.
It appointed nodal officers from petitioners side and the Election Commission side for filing written submissions/compilations.
On Monday, underscoring the 'presumption of genuineness" of Aadhaar and voter ID, the top court refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, and said it would once and for all decide pleas against the Election Commission's SIR of electoral rolls.
It asked the poll panel to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter ID for the SIR exercise in Bihar in compliance with its order, saying both documents had a 'presumption of genuineness".
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had submitted that the electoral rolls should not be finalised in the interim, pressing for an interim stay on the publication of the draft rolls on August 1.
The apex court, however, referred to the top court's previous order noting the petitioners did not press for an interim relief, which couldn't be allowed now, and said the matter would be interpreted once and for all.
On July 10, a bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards as valid documents as it allowed the poll panel to continue with its exercise in Bihar.
The top court on Monday said the Election Commission suggested that the list of 11 documents for SIR was not inclusive but exhaustive, and they were using both Aadhaar and voter IDs for the purpose of identification.
Dwivedi said Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship and the voter card was not relied upon as it was a revision exercise or else there was no use of such an exercise.
Justice Kant had then remarked, 'Any document on earth can be forged. The Election Commission can deal with cases of forgery on a case to case basis. Instead of en masse exclusion it must be en masse inclusion." Dwivedi said the poll panel was accepting both Aadhaar and voter IDs but with certain supporting documents.
The EC affidavit has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by 'weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls. PTI MNL MNL MNK MNK
view comments
First Published:
July 29, 2025, 13:45 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
DMK, allies, NTK oppose addition of guest workers from Bihar in TN voter list
Chennai: After the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that 36 lakh voters from Bihar were missing from the electoral rolls, Tamil Nadu politicians expressed concern that they might be included in the state's voter list. DMK general secretary Duraimurugan, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan, NTK chief coordinator Seeman, and Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) founder T Velmurugan opposed "the addition of guest workers from Bihar to the Tamil Nadu voter list". Duraimurugan told reporters in Vellore, "This is a problem in Tamil Nadu as they came to work here as guest workers. But giving them voter IDs in Tamil Nadu will result in political change in the future." You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai Thirumavalavan insisted that chief minister M K Stalin convene an all-party meeting to address the issue. "The ECI is carrying out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, where dalits and minorities are eliminated from the voters' list," said Thirumavalavan. Tamil Nadu, which will face the assembly election next year, will also face SIR soon, and there are chances that lakhs of guest workers from other states will be added to the voters list, said Thirumavalavan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like TV providers are furious: this gadget gives you access to all channels Techno Mag Learn More Undo "This will change the entire political scenario in the state, and I insist Stalin take a decision on the issue," he told reporters in Villupuram. Seeman issued a statement saying that if SIR was carried out in Tamil Nadu, he would organise protests. "Trying to convert people from the North into voters of Tamil Nadu is a great injustice to Tamil people. All democratic forces should come forward to fight against the BJP for this tyranny, and for trying to undermine the democratic system by using the ECI as a puppet to capture power in states where it cannot govern," Seeman said. Velmurugan told journalists, "It is shocking that 6.5 lakh guest workers from Bihar were already added to Tamil Nadu voters list. Lakhs of guest workers are already working in Tamil Nadu, and this is a challenge to the culture and tradition of the soil." People here vote not based on religion, but the BJP has devised a plan to include them as voters in Tamil Nadu and to form govt here, said Velmurugan. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Show proof of 'vote chori': Rajnath Singh to Rahul Gandhi
PATNA/NEW DELHI: Defence minister on Saturday slammed Congress neta for claiming to have an "atom bomb of evidence of vote theft" against , and dared him to detonate the explosive. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At an event organised by a media house in Patna, Singh also likened the upcoming state polls to a crossroad, with one path (under ) leading to further progress and another (under the INDIA bloc) taking Bihar back to its old era of lawlessness and caste strife. "Rahul Gandhi says he is in possession of an atom bomb. If it is so, he should detonate it at once. He should just ensure that he is himself out of harm's way," Singh said. Gandhi had Friday said that his party has an "atom bomb" of evidence to prove "vote chori" by EC for BJP, remarks that evoked a sharp response from the poll panel. The commission termed Gandhi's remarks as "baseless and wild allegations". Singh also said the nation remembers his past rhetoric. "Rahul had threatened Parliament of an earthquake, but when he spoke, it turned out to be a damp squib." Singh said EC is an institution that enjoys a reputation for unquestionable integrity. "It is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the upcoming assembly polls in the state are held in a free and fair manner. It does not behove the leader of the opposition to make frivolous statements about a constitutional body," the BJP MP from Lucknow said. The defence minister reminded the LoP that his own party has blood on its hands, having tried to murder democracy in 1975 with the imposition of the Emergency. The defence minister also criticised the Congress-led opposition for raising questions about Operation Sindoor instead of paying tributes to the valour displayed by the Indian armed forces. The former BJP president alleged that the Congress had been soft on insurgency while in office, and tried to frame innocent people by spinning the theory of saffron terror because of vote bank considerations.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Not one claim from booth level agents of parties in 24 hours of poll roll publication
NEW DELHI: Not a single claim or objection was filed within the first 24 hours of publication of the draft electoral roll in Bihar, by any of the 1.6 lakh booth level agents (BLAs) deployed by a dozen political parties across the state's 90,712 booths. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, EC said 3,223 applications were received between 3pm on Aug 1 and 3pm on Aug 2, for fresh enrolment of electors turning 18 years on the cutoff dates July 1 and Oct 1, 2025. All have submitted their Form 6 with the mandatory declaration. As reported by TOI, EC, in an exercise aimed at 100% transparency, put out the first of its daily reports Saturday on the partywise claims and objections received from BLAs and resolved by the electoral registration officer or assistant ERO. As per rules, claims and objections are to be disposed of after the expiry of seven days. The update shared by the poll panel lists 'zero' claims and objections filed between 3pm on Aug 1 and 3pm on Aug 2, by the BLAs appointed by RJD, Congress, CPM, AAP, BSP, National People's Party, BJP, JD(U), CPI (ML) (Liberation), LJP (Ram Vilas), Rashtriya LJP and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party. The district election officers of all of Bihar's 38 districts had Friday shared the draft electoral roll for all 90,712 polling booths with the political parties. It also provided them the list of electors who were there in the roll as on June 24, 2025, but are not in the draft electoral roll published Friday. The absence of any claim or objection from RJD, which has 47,506 BLAs in the field, is interesting given that Saturday started with party chief claiming his name was not in the roll. The claim turned out to be incorrect as a copy of the draft roll for the relevant booth in Digha assembly constituency lists not only Tejashwi as entry no. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 416, but also his wife Rajshree as entry no. 445. Tejashwi had earlier, while objecting to the non-inclusion of Aadhaar in list of documentation accepted under SIR, voiced the fear that his wife, who only has Aadhaar, may not be on the roll. EC on Saturday said it is not able to understand why Tejashwi is making such baseless allegations. As regards his fears regarding large-scale deletions, the poll panel said he should ask his 47,506 BLAs to file claims and objections, for which they have an entire month from Aug 1 to Sept 1. "No BLA of any political party has submitted a single case to BLOs during the last 24 hours. This, despite all BLAs having agreed to go through the boothwise draft lists given to them on August 1, carefully," said the commission. EC is meanwhile issuing advertisements in print, TV and social media to create awareness among the electors of Bihar regarding the option of filing claims and objections. It will also set up special camps in all block-cum-office circles and urban local body offices, from 10am to 5pm on all days till Sept 1. Any elector of Bihar can check his name in the draft electoral roll by filling his EPIC number directly on the EC voters' portal and can also file claims and objections.
